I visit so many offices when I get the time but what I find there is quite disappointing. You find an executive surrounded by lots and lots of paper or files on top of his desk and also on the floor. He also has equipment on the same desk. At times, they tend to look like dustbins and yet they are working places of individuals! I need guidance on what you think of them and what should be the procedure to clean them up.

Thank you.

Judith

I am one of those messy desks.
I have no time to clean it. Where do you work?
I have to micro manage all day long and do a variety of job functions. I just end up piling it up and cleaning my desk top. If people don't like it don't look at it! Believe it I know where everything is.

I wrote an article about Messy Desk's on my blog (The Executive Assistant's Toolbox - www.eatoolbox.com) and someone commented that "If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what then is an empty desk a sign of?"
I've kept that in my head now whenever I'm tempted to judge someone for having a messy desk :)

Sometimes when I need to clean up I just throw all the papers in a box or a draw and clean the top of my desk. This is a quick fix.
I wish I had an personal secretary. One bad habit I have is that I print everything. I worry about todays electronic system failing. This is my stuff.

Messy desks...if everything was all clean I wouldn't have anything to do now would I? :) I am a very visual person so nothing gets filed till it's been taken care of completely. 90% of the time, I know which pile contains what at any given moment.

I agree. For me, if I have a mess on my desk, it is usually indicative of being too busy. At least the important papers are filed, the rest usually becomes trash when I spring clean, now and then, whenever I'm in the mood. I'm worse at home, but at least no one can see it.

I set an alarm on my Outlook calendar 30 minutes before my closing time every day. When possible, I stop what I'm doing, and spend the last 30 minutes of the day cleaning off my desk, prepping calendar and so forth for the following day, and tying up any loose ends before I leave. This works great for me!

It's hard to keep your own desk clean, and even harder to keep your boss' desk clean. It matters, though. People see a messy desk and think you're a disorganized person. You may function beautifully in the chaos, but it leaves a bad impression with others.